Greetings,I just wanted to post a recommendation for a dog training class that we used with our MLRR puppy, Beau.For those of you who live on the north shore, we went to the Gorton Community center in Lake Forest, (http://www.gortoncenter.org/) and took puppy kindergarten class with Gee Cunningham. It's $120.00 for 6 sessions, and teaches dog owners the basics of obedience, i.e., “come,” “sit,” “stay,” down,” “watch,” and the beginning of walking at “heel.” All American Kennel Club commands and hand signals are used.for those who have already taken puppy kindergarten, Gorton also offers beginner dog obedience, and advanced dog obedience. Puppy Kindergarten class starts up again on June 7th.

Doogie's adopted family used Julia at Spot On K9 Sports of South Elgin, Illinois. Her information is: www.spotonk9s.com Julia Lane 630. 945 .1437 They had good results and Julia loved Doogie! Having fostered him, I would have to say, who wouldn't?

We use Fox Valley Dog Training Club for Scooby. Once your dog has graduated from beginners class you have an option to join the club and come to drop in sessions on Thursday and the membership is only $90/yr and is good for multiple dogs. It's located at the Kane County Fair Grounds in St Charles off of 64 and Randall. They are not restrictive on the types of collars, but require a 6ft of shorter leash. I've pasted a blurb about them from the website below.

About FVDTC:Fox Valley Dog Training Club (FVDTC) was founded in 1948. Since 1968, we have trained on most Thursday evenings at the Kane County Fairgrounds from 7:00 - 10:00 PM.

Obedience classes are the mainstay of FVDTC. For over 50 years we have taught the general public how to train their housepets to become welcome canine citizens. Our motto is "A well-trained dog is a happy dog" and we also know that the owner of that dog is a much happier owner. A few weeks or months of diligent training can develop an understanding and friendship between the dog and owner that will last a lifetime.

We offer a complete range of classes: Puppy, conformation, and obedience. Our members are also involved in Agility, Tracking, Water Rescue Dog and Herding Training and are enthusiastic about helping those interested in these canine activities. Our club welcomes mixed breed dogs and we have a program through which the mixed breed can earn titles and qualify for awards as well as the purebreds

We've Dog Obedience Group (DOG) for both of our dogs - taking both the group classes (basic obedience) and private lessons. Both Wendy and Dennis are great. Wendy teaches the puppy classes and private lessons; Dennis teaches the adult basic obedience class. However, both of them are present in each class, as well as a number of helpers to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Wendy and the group were voted a "Best of Chicago" winner by Chicago Magazine in 2010 for dog training.

They use clicker training and are extremely good with all types of dogs, including problem ones. The group has received multiple awards over the years and Wendy worked wonders with both of our dogs, one of whom is a puppy mill survivor who is extremely anxious around people. She is also great about providing suggestions over the phone to help with specific issues.

The classes run for about 6 to 8 sessions and occur in North side of Chicago and North Shore. Private lessons are available on request. They have a website with schedules and phone numbers. website: www.dogobediencegroup.com Phone number: (773) 973-2934

There are several types of dog training service: dog agility training, animal assisted therapy, dog training schools, all of them are the consulting services that help you to prevent different problems. But the basic task of the dog training service is to help people with disabilities. Owing to the service dog training program, deaf or blind people may have such a devoted assistant as a dog. The dog training service provides the dogs which can help to pick up the things which it is hard to reach, to help people to walk, if they have problems in orientation, or the dogs may even pull wheelchairs. The dog training service is very useful for people with disabilities, gives them mobility and independence.

The search and rescue dogs represent the other type of the dog training service, that due to their powerful sense of smell can find and safe people after different disasters. The dog training service is irreplaceable in finding the victims of earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, building eboulement. The system of the dog training service is based on the reward method. Everything in the dog training service is a game for the dog, and, improving his skills, the dog wants to please the owner. The dog training service teaches the dogs to follow the scent even if the body is in water or air is too dusted.

Most favorite breeds for search and rescue dog training service are German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and Golden Retrievers. Weimaraners and Smooth Collies can also be used in rescue dog training service. On the whole, bloodhounds are the best searching dogs. They can follow the scent after weeks, while the representatives of the other breeds can do it only within several hours. Notwithstanding the breed, the dog, accepted to the dog training service, have to be sociable and to be able to join any group. The service dog training is a team work and there should be no conflicts or misunderstanding. During dog training service the owner of the dog also have to be prepared to help injured people and stay calm, observing the dead victims of disasters.

In the Western suburbs, I highly recommend Wiggles-n-Wags in Lombard. The website is http://www.wiggles-n-wags.com Susan Eastwood is the owner. They are an all-positive training facility - no pincher or choker collars are used. Susan was instrumental in helping me with my foster dog, Yuletide. Yule was an extremely shy dog - the first time Susan came to my house, he was cowering under the desk. Susan told me what I needed to do to help Yule overcome his fear. With patience and a lot of help from Susan, in 2 months, Yule was a much different dog. I also take my own dog there. WnW not only has the basic obedience & puppy class es- they have a variety of other classes - from Canine Good Citizen to Agility to Flyball to Tricks to Therapy Dog certification. WnW is the place you want to go if you want to unleash your dog's potential.

Here's a link to a great trainer in Plainfield. Heather Dwyer's Lucky Dog Academy. She has a lot of different classes, including agility, scent, reactive dog, shy/fearful dog, etc. etc. http://whosaluckydog.com/